Social skills training for youth with autism spectrum disorders

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2008 Oct;17(4):857-73, x. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2008.06.008.

Abstract

Social skill deficits are a pervasive and enduring feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As such, social skills training (SST) should be a critical component of programming for youth with ASD. A number of SST strategies exist, including those employing social stories, video modeling interventions, social problem solving, pivotal response training, scripting procedures, computer-based interventions, priming procedures, prompting procedures, and self-monitoring. This article summarizes each intervention strategy and provides results from several research studies. Social skills assessment is a crucial first step to SST, and a number of assessment measures are described. Meta-analytic reviews of the research provide further recommendations for successful SST programs.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Autistic Disorder / diagnosis
  • Autistic Disorder / psychology
  • Autistic Disorder / therapy*
  • Behavior Therapy / methods*
  • Humans
  • Language Development Disorders / diagnosis
  • Language Development Disorders / psychology
  • Language Development Disorders / therapy
  • Personal Construct Theory
  • Personality Assessment
  • Social Behavior Disorders / diagnosis
  • Social Behavior Disorders / psychology
  • Social Behavior Disorders / therapy*
  • Software
  • Therapy, Computer-Assisted